5 Tips to Organize Your Digital Clutter

Whether you grew up typing on a manual typewriter, an IBM Selectric (!), or a computer keyboard, there’s no denying that we are now living in a digital age, right?

You might not like it but technology is here to stay.

And with all of these machines, we accumulate an immense amount of digital clutter in the form of old files, emails, and apps.

Not only does this clutter take up valuable space on our devices, but it can also lead to a feeling of overwhelm and disorganization.

And in some ways, because they’re small compared to things like clothing, furniture, and gardening equipment, they’re easy to overlook until you really need to find something or they stop working at a critical moment, like when an important call drops or the GPS conks out, right?



So here are some tips for dealing with digital clutter:

1) Delete old files.

Go through your Downloads folder, your desktop (!), and any catchall folders you’ve created to just park stuff “until you have more time to sort through them” and delete any things that you no longer need. Be sure to empty your trash bin afterward to free up space on your device.

2) Unsubscribe from emails.

If you find yourself receiving too many emails, consider unsubscribing from any that are no longer relevant or important to you. Our free gift to you will help with this!

3) Organize your apps.

Take a quick scan of your phone and tablet and delete any apps that you no longer use. I create a folder for apps I download so I can keep them all together and then test them. Once I review the apps, I toss the ones I don’t like and put any that are staying with their siblings in labeled folders.

Use the 2nd leg of the Organizational Triangle, Like with Like, to help you group like apps together. Some easy categories are FINANCES, TRAVEL, FITNESS, FOOD, SOCIAL MEDIA, and NEWS. Organizing all the apps you actually use into folders will make them easier to find.

4) Use cloud storage.

Consider using cloud storage services like iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox to store important files and free up space on your device—after you’ve deleted the files you don’t need. You could also use cloud storage to backup important files so nothing valuable is lost when a device is lost, stolen or just fails.

5) Set up a system for dealing with incoming digital files.

Create a simple system for dealing with new files and emails so you don’t just recreate the problem with new clutter. By setting up a few rules for how and when you’ll handle incoming files, they won’t pile up and become overwhelming.

By taking these steps to deal with digital clutter, you can free up space on your device, reduce overwhelm, and create a more organized digital life.

P.S. If you want more help decluttering your digital life, check out [Mastering Your Digital Life], one of our most popular classes at Unstuff University.

And if you want to take on more clutter hotspots, check out the Ultimate Collection of every one of the 10 De-Stress Your Mess Challenges—with over 80 days of LIVE recorded questions and answers, amazing mindset coaching, and hands-on training, you can pick and choose which hotspot to tackle first!

Here’s to more love and less stuff!

Andrew

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The tomato behind The Three Tomatoes.
Cheryl Benton, aka the “head tomato” is founder and publisher of The Three Tomatoes, a digital lifestyle magazine for “women who aren’t kids”. Having lived and worked for many years in New York City, the land of size zero twenty-somethings, she was truly starting to feel like an invisible woman. She created The Three Tomatoes just for the fun of it as the antidote for invisibility and sent it to 60 friends. Today she has thousands of friends and is chief cheerleader for smart, savvy women who want to live their lives fully at every age and every stage. She is the author of the novel, "Can You See Us Now?" and co-author of a humorous books of quips, "Martini Wisdom." Because she's lived a long time, her full bio won't fit here. If you want the "blah, blah, blah", read more. www.thethreetomatoes.com/about-the-head-tomato

Cheryl Benton

The tomato behind The Three Tomatoes. Cheryl Benton, aka the “head tomato” is founder and publisher of The Three Tomatoes, a digital lifestyle magazine for “women who aren’t kids”. Having lived and worked for many years in New York City, the land of size zero twenty-somethings, she was truly starting to feel like an invisible woman. She created The Three Tomatoes just for the fun of it as the antidote for invisibility and sent it to 60 friends. Today she has thousands of friends and is chief cheerleader for smart, savvy women who want to live their lives fully at every age and every stage. She is the author of the novel, "Can You See Us Now?" and co-author of a humorous books of quips, "Martini Wisdom." Because she's lived a long time, her full bio won't fit here. If you want the "blah, blah, blah", read more. www.thethreetomatoes.com/about-the-head-tomato

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